Voices in the Dark

by Jaeza Rayleigh

  No answer appeared to be required, so Lizzy kept her mouth shut and followed the housekeeper.

  "This is the last time you will use the front door unless you are accompanying Lady Catherine. There are several side doors which are acceptable if you must leave or enter the house."

  "Yes, Mrs. Porter," Lizzy said quietly. She knew her life as a servant had begun.

  Mrs. Porter took her down a hallway lined with portraits of people in court dress from a variety of periods. All seemed to have a proud, disdainful look about them. After taking a few turns where the hall joined with others, they stopped before a set of double doors made of carved wood decorated with gilt. Although the door had clearly been polished, the gold did not glitter; instead it had a dull glow in the light from the candles set in sconces along the corridor. Lizzy thought she saw hazy shapes flickering in the shadows, but when she looked more closely nothing was there. Perhaps it was a strange reflection from the gold.

  Mrs. Porter knocked lightly on a plain spot in the center of one door.

  "Enter," said a voice that contained the same pride and disdain as the portraits on the walls had shown in their faces.

  Mrs. Porter opened the door panel on which she had knocked. She motioned for Lizzy to enter the room, then closed the door behind Lizzy when she was in. Alone, Lizzy stood just inside the room and looked at her surroundings. The drawing room lay before her in all its glory.

  Strangely enough, it was the floor that caught her attention first. No warmth of carpet here. Smooth, polished marble lay underfoot, white but heavily veined with dark green, gray, black and even a touch of gold. The white sat predominant; it gleamed. But the darker veins shifted and moved over the surface, seeming to obscure then reveal it like wisps of cloud in front of the full moon on a breezy night.

  Instead of wood wainscoting a veneer of the same marble carried halfway up the walls in panels divided by floor to ceiling marble half-columns at regular intervals. Between the columns, which were pure white in contrast to the other surfaces, the upper half of the wall lay under a coat of gold flocked wallpaper punctuated by mirrors in gilded frames hung in every other panel. As in the hallway, the gold did not so much gleam or glitter as burn like embers.

  This room was lit by a combination of light from the windows, that took the place of the mirrored panels along one long wall, and oil lamps with ornate glass sleeves affixed to the non-mirrored panels of the opposite wall. The light of the windows filtered through white drapes hung from gold hangers and accented by black tasseled edgings.

  The furnishings carried through the color theme. All wooden surfaces were either white, black or covered with gilt. The fabrics and cushions were of white and gold brocade or black and gold velvet. The overall effect aimed for regal grandeur and a desire to impress the unworthy with their own insignificance. It worked.

  Lizzy hesitated to enter further. She had not even noticed the woman seated on the most ornate of the gilded chairs, although the figure commanded the room and broke the color scheme.

  "Well, come forward, girl," directed the cold, proud voice.

  Lizzy walked into the room to stand before the figure. Where Mrs. Porter was a figure of steel gray, this woman was adamant and ice. Her intricately styled white hair gleamed against the black lace widow's cap that covered it. No wrinkle dared mar her face or hands, the skin on which carried the whiteness of one who used small doses of arsenic to enhance their complexion. It was dead look when combined with the disdainful expression she wore. The deep red velvet gown trimmed in black and accented by strands of gold set with sparkling diamonds only intensified the effect.

  There was no doubt in Lizzy's mind. She stood before Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

  Out of habit, Lizzy dropped a curtsy.

  "Good," said the woman. "You have some knowledge of manners. Your form could be improved, but at least you did not need to be prompted. Hmph."

  Lady Catherine looked Lizzy over intently. Searching for faults, no doubt, Lizzy thought. She knew silence was her best course of action, so she stood quietly, maintaining what she hoped was a respectful look on her face.

  After a time Lady Catherine spoke again. "Well, you are not quite what I was expecting, although I do take Mr. Collins' descriptions with a large grain of salt. He painted you as an unmanageable hoyden. Of course he may have been upset, as he says you were foolish enough to insult and spurn him when he wished to marry you. I would say that shows some intelligence on your part but given your family situation it was certainly unwise. Your younger sister was less picky and is now the mistress of your family home." She looked Lizzy over once again.

  "Yes, you will do," she said finally, in the same proud tone and wearing the same cold expression. Lizzy wondered if the woman ever smiled, then thought the things that might make such a person smile would not be good things.

  "As my companion, Miss Bennet, you will attend me when I wish you to. You will come when I send for you. You will curtsy deeply before me, then you will sit in that seat," she gestured to a chair nearby, "and remain silent unless I direct you to speak. Is that understood?"

  Lizzy understood well enough. She dropped another curtsy, as fine as she could make it, as she said, "Yes, Lady Catherine."

  The older woman nodded slightly, just enough to cause the slightest sparkle from the diamond earbobs she wore as the light hit them differently.

  "Mr. Collins wrote that you are headstrong and resistant to authority. I admire these qualities in myself but do not appreciate them in others. You will do well, Miss Bennet, if you remember that eventually I always get my way. Others have tried to prevail against me, but they fail. I win. That is my place and my truth. I win."

  Lizzy hoped she read the text correctly and gave her response with another silent curtsy.

  "Hmm," breathed Lady Catherine with another slight, sparkling, nod. "You are dismissed. Porter is outside the room and will show you to your chamber. Her authority is less than mine, but greater than yours. Take heed of her instructions."

  Lizzy curtsied again, took two steps back, then turned and left the room. She heard another soft "Hmm" behind her and knew the earbobs would be sparkling again.

  As Lady Catherine indicated, Mrs. Porter waited outside the room. She stood silent while Lizzy exited, carefully closing the door behind her. Mrs. Porter turned and began to walk, gesturing for Lizzy to follow her.

  "Pay attention as we go, Miss Bennet. Lady Catherine will not appreciate delays of any kind and especially not if you become lost on the way while answering her summons." She stopped at a point where the corridor intersected four others, forming a star-shaped room. She turned and gestured to a pair of life-size bronze statues which flanked the opening: Roman soldiers standing at guard with the tips of their spears pointing slightly into the corridor from which Mrs. Porter and Lizzy had just emerged.

  "Memorize those statues. You will find statues like them guarding each corridor that leads from the entry to Lady Catherine's drawing room. Any room that is guarded by soldiers bearing an upraised sword is off limits to you unless you are expressly directed to enter by Lady Catherine. Is that clear, Miss Bennet?"

  "Yes, Mrs. Porter."

  "You will use the back stairs," she gestured to the second opening to the left of the one they had exited. "This way."

  They entered a hall, similar in size and coloring to the rest, although without portraits on the walls. Despite the whitewashed wall and the lack of the adornments, the hall seemed more shaded and dark. There were fewer candles placed in fewer sconces for them and plainer ones at that. Their light should have been enough, but shadows seemed to flicker along the whiteness instead of the warmth of candlelight.

  Lizzy felt cold. That uncomfortable shiver had returned.

  The back stairs were wider than the main stairs at Longbourn. Three people could easily walk abreast on them. The treads were carpeted and set shallowly enough that one could carry a heavy load up them without stumbling or straining due to their height. W
indows with plain drapery lit them as they climbed and twisted up the exterior wall.

  Lizzy followed Mrs. Porter up three flights to another whitewashed hall where the shadows danced and flitted more noticeably. Lizzy marked the two turns they took before Mrs. Porter stopped in front of a closed door. The housekeeper pointed to a mark like a peony carved on either side of the door frame.

  "Your chamber," she said, opening the door and gesturing Lizzy in. Lizzy stepped inside. She would not be cramped for space. The room was slightly larger than the chamber she had shared with Jane at Longbourn. The bed was slightly smaller, but quite adequate for one, and the reduced size made the room appear more spacious. Her trunk sat at the foot of the bed, with her workbasket atop it. A closet on one wall stood with door ajar to show triangular shelves fitted into one side of it along the back corner. A plain screen stood in the other corner of the room behind the now-open door. Presumably it hid the chamber pot.

  The sight of the window pleased Lizzy the most. She would not be forced to rely solely on candlelight. A desk sat against the wall next to the window and had a chair drawn up to it. Another chair waited next to the wall by the closet. A slightly worn carpet cushioned Lizzy's feet as she stepped further inside. There was no fireplace, she noted. The room could be cold in winter, but that was several months away. They were only a month past Easter now.

  "You may unpack and refresh yourself. I will send one of the maids to show you where you will eat, where to dispose of your waste and to teach you the ways of the house. Lady Catherine is unlikely to request your presence again today, but if she does you are to respond immediately." She stood waiting in the doorway.

  Again Lizzy knew the correct response. She dropped another curtsy. "Thank you, Mrs. Porter," was said in her humblest tones. There was no point in making an enemy of this woman.

  Mrs. Porter gave the slightest of nods, then closed the door. Lizzy could hear her soft footfalls echo down the hall.

  After moving her workbasket to sit on the floor by the head of her bed Lizzy opened her trunk and began to unpack. It was time to make herself at home.

  Chapter 4: Lessons

  Lizzy learned many things from Ellen, the maid who came to show her how the household worked. Ellen was not exactly friendly, nor was she unfriendly. She had instructions to teach Lizzy what she would need and that is what she undertook. Emotion had no part in the task.

  Lizzy learned where and when she would eat, where to get water for washing and where to empty her chamber pot. There were rules for what parts of the house she could enter beyond being forbidden the rooms guarded by statues of soldiers with upraised swords.

  "You are never to enter the far wing on this level of the house. Those rooms are for the men. You will be discharged immediately, and Lady Catherine will ensure you never work in a respectable household again. For their part, the men are never to come to our side. Not even to the top of the landing on our backstairs," Ellen told Lizzy with a very serious look.

  "Is there some indicator so we know if we are going to the wrong place?" Lizzy asked.

  "Not really. You just need to be cautious. It is not that difficult. We are separated from their wing by the whole central area of the house. You would also be wise never to use the backstairs in that wing even if you are going to the level below this one. Use the backstairs in this wing or the main wing and pay attention to what level you are on."

  "What other rules do I need to be aware of?"

  "You are probably best off not talking to any of the male servants at all unless you are in a group or carrying a message. Never flirt or meet any of them privately. And of course, stay well away from any of the male guests unless you are required to be near them in Lady Catherine's company. She rarely has male visitors overnight except for her nephews. They do not seem the type to take advantage of the servants, but you must avoid even appearing to flirt with them. Lady Catherine means one of them for her daughter and will brook no interference."

  "Lady Catherine has a daughter? I am surprised Mr. Collins never mentioned her."

  "Mr. Collins was not the parson here for very long. He may not have known about Miss de Bourgh."

  "If he had known I am sure he would have said something. During the two months my family stayed at Longbourn with him after my father's death he praised Lady Catherine constantly."

  Ellen gave the tiniest of smiles. "That is why Lady Catherine gave him the living. He even preached sermons about his gratitude."

  "Why would he not know about Miss de Bourgh? Does she not go out?"

  "Miss de Bourgh rarely leaves her rooms except when Lady Catherine's nephews visit. She was very ill as a child and is still quite delicate."

  "That must be hard for her."

  "I would not know. I have only seen her in passing a few times."

  Lizzy had more to worry about than the mysterious daughter of her new employer. She had to set her mind to pleasing Lady Catherine. Her noble patroness did not intend to make that task an easy one.

  She had the first afternoon to settle in after Ellen had shown her around the servant's passages in the house. As she did, she continued to notice that strange flickering shadow in the passages and some of the rooms. Several times she felt that now-familiar chilly sensation creep over her, but Ellen seemed to notice nothing amiss. Lizzy did not wish to embarrass herself by asking about it.

  ~o~

  The following day Lizzy received her summons from one of the maids just as she was about to take her luncheon. Instead she made her way quickly to the drawing room. Knocking on the plain spot on the door as Mrs. Porter had, Lizzy waited until she heard Lady Catherine tell her to enter. She entered silently, gently closing the door behind her, made her curtsy and sat in the chair as she had been instructed. She sat as a properly demure lady should, back straight, hands folded together in her lap, legs gently crossed at the ankles which were fully covered by her skirt.

  She sat silently and waited for instructions. And waited. And waited. Lady Catherine appeared not to have moved from the previous day. She wore the same red velvet gown with the same diamond and gold jewelry. She had acknowledged Lizzy's entry by watching her as she made her curtsy, with that hint of a nod when Lizzy performed well. Then she picked up a letter from a pile on the small table at her side and began to read.

  This was to be a test of her ability to sit still and remain silent Lizzy realized after a time. She continued to sit quietly and focus on breathing in and out, trying to control her frustration and her hunger. She suspected the timing of the summons had been deliberate. Lizzy had stubbornness in her favor. If this was a test, she would pass. So she continued to wait.

  Lady Catherine read through her letters. She penciled some notes into what looked like a journal. She read the letters again, very slowly. From the chimes of the ormolu clock on a nearby stand, placed so Lady Catherine could read the face, but Lizzy could not, she estimated nearly four hours had passed as she sat still and silent.

  Finally, with a dismissive wave of her hand Lady Catherine said, "You may leave."

  Lizzy rose, glad her legs were not too stiff to hold her through the deep curtsy required before her exit. She then retreated, being sure to close the door gently behind her. She really wanted to slam it and then rant and rage at being confined for so long. She took a very deep breath and slowly let it out. She knew from Ellen's instructions it was too late to expect either luncheon or tea. Lizzy would have to wait until dinner. It was probably best to return to her room.

  As she went down the corridor the back stairs, she noticed the shadows were stronger. Instead of flickering they seemed to hang in the air, swirling like smoke. She did not so much see them as feel them, a dark presence drawn to her anger. Lizzy did not run, but she could not help checking over her shoulder several times, all the while not quite sure what she expected to see.

  ~o~

  Lizzy had her luncheon the next day but missed her dinner. Lady Catherine summoned her in the late afternoon. After an h
our or so of silent sitting Lizzy almost started in surprise when Lady Catherine placed a marker in the book she was reading and offered the book to Lizzy.

  "Read to me," she said imperiously. "Begin at the third paragraph down."

  Lizzy read. Her father had taught her to read aloud with a smooth tempo, carefully enunciating each word at an appropriate volume. By the end of the first page Lizzy heard the soft "hmm" and saw the slight sparkle off the earbobs. Lady Catherine sat stiffly upright but closed her eyes. Lizzy read on. She continued to read until her throat felt raw. She was not even sure if her audience was awake. It was another test, she assumed, so she read on until suddenly Lady Catherine opened her eyes.

  "Stop there. Place the marker and close the book. You are dismissed." She gracefully reached to take the book from Lizzy. Lizzy did as she was told, curtsied and departed.

  Once again Lizzy closed the door gently despite a desire to slam it in anger at Lady Catherine's lack of consideration. Once in the corridor she allowed her frustration and anger to wash over her.

  Because the corridor was windowless and lit by candles, the encroaching night should have made no difference to the available light. Yet Lizzy could feel shadows wrapping aground her and not just in the spaces between the sconces. They flowed and shifted lake waves on the beach at the rising of the tide. As she left the drawing room Lizzy had felt the strength of her frustration, but by the time she reached the backstairs she felt drained. The sensation deepened with each shadowy patch through which she passed.

  Almost stumbling into her room, Lizzy felt weariness rush over her. Ignoring the slight gnawing of hunger from missing dinner, Lizzy undressed and dropped into her bed to spend the night in fitful sleep.

  ~o~

  Lizzy wondered why she never saw Lady Catherine in any of the other rooms or corridors. Upon inquiry she learned from Ellen that her ladyship had a private set of stairs behind the drawing room leading to her personal suite of chambers immediately above. Lizzy had no idea what Lady Catherine did when she was not in the drawing room. In this house such questions were best left unasked.